Impulsive under $50 buys arrived

I have bought (won) many coins on impulse....never one for $50 or less.

 

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I have no trouble believing that...

 

Here's another impulse buy that arrived during the Coin Talk blackout.

I was really hesitating over it - the photo wasn't very appetizing. But Trebonianus Gallus sestertiss don't come along every day, especially for this price, so my bottom-feeding instincts were aroused. The seller was unsure of the attribution and wrote: "Ancient Roman Greek Coin Bronze Thick You Grade You Decide Constantine (?)". The starting bid was $24.98, which also added to the temptation; since no other bids came in, that's what I paid.

When it showed up I was very pleased with it - it looked much better in hand and I thought the "needle-nosed" portrait of TB was nicely rendered. It has a pleasant green patina, which is disturbed behind the bust, revealing the brassy color beneath (the seller's photos made this look much worse than it really is). Here it is:


Trebonianus Gallus Æ Sest.
(251-253 A.D.)
Rome Mint
IMP CAES C VIBIVS TREBONIANVS GA[LLVS AVG], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PIETAS AVGG, S-C, Pietas standing facing, altar to left.
RIC 117a.
(14.14 grams / 27 x 25 mm)

What puts this in the "impulsive" category, still, or perhaps "obsessive" is that I already had two of these.

So here they are, three PIETAS RIC 117a sestertii of Trebonianus Gallus. The one on the left is nicest. The one in the middle is on a very crowded flan, losing most of the legends, but still decent bust and goddess. The one on the right is the new one. If I get a few more I can start a die-link study (just kidding - I am way too lazy for that):

 

Amazing deal. You can barely get sestertii of any sort for that price.

 

Here are two impulse buys at low prices. These are the sellers pictures and the coins have yet to arrive:

The first one was only EUR 22 and the second one EUR 12

 

These two cost $20 each, impulsive but I don't regret it.

 

What a day! I got my COVID-19 shot (first of two) and the USPS brought me three more "impulse" purchases from eBay - I thought they all looked kind of nifty in one photo. I haven't attributed them yet. And my arm doesn't hurt (yet).

That one on top was described as a Geta denarius but the listing had a photo of a Vespasian. Rather than pester the seller with questions, I decided to take a gamble. Geta it is! And it came with a Ilya Zlobin certificate of authenticity to boot. Nobody bid on it, probably because of the photo/description discrepancy. It went for $20.

That one on the bottom left was advertised as a semis, but it weighs 9.15 grams, so I think it is an as. This is the first Rome/Antioch SC Trajan for me - it's a bit rough so it went for $8.77 which seems cheap to me.

Note the countermark on that tetradrachm on the bottom right. I paid $42.50, which is way more than I pay for countermarks usually, but since it was still under the $50 limit on this thread, I will include it. This was an "impulse buy" because it was a buy-it-now auction and I was afraid somebody else would snap it up. It was issued by a kingdom I'd never heard of - but I'm sure some of you will recognize it.

 

The way things are going here/ I might get mine by Christmas! But, I am in no hurry/ I dread getting needles
Congrats on your new coins.